Kathy's New Life

Ok I have you to thank for a very sore belly today LOL, I just had to look up Oxycise last night. And that lead me to several you tube videos for proper breathing and deep breathing ect. I did so many deep breaths and diaphragmatic breathing that I feel like I did a million sit ups last night. I knew your plan was good. I am still doing the deep breathing today even though it hurts a bit. But I want these lungs in top shape for surgery. And my lungs are never in top shape.
Hope you are having a great day.

Thanks everyone! I have my journal ready to go for my 3 mth plan. I have been taking daily Vitamins for years so it won't be a big deal for me to do that. I will just need to switch to liquid ones. I am also on 9 different RX's that I am hoping to get off of. My biggest dream is to take an ax to my CPAP machine. I HATE that thing!..lol.
The first things I am going to work on are actually USING my recumbant bike Starting a daily walking plan. Eliminating Soda and Caffiene. Cutting down and eventually getting off of all NSAIDS. Not drinking at the same time as eating and doing breathing exercises with Oxycise.
I know this is a lot but I work at home so I can work it around my office work. I am very blessed in that area.

Welcome Kathy pure right it is harder to lose the weight after 40, good luck on your journey.

Welcome. The three months will go by faster than you can imagine and it is a good time to start some new and lifetime changes and habits. I started taking Vitamins regularly for one thing. The nutritionist will want food logs, and writing down what you eat and how much, does give you pause to what you are putting into your body.
I had the band seven years ago. I never lost more than about 30 pounds and have gained that and more back and forth back and forth, Now I am at the same weight as then. And none of my medical problems were every helped. I am having a revision from band to RNY on November 7. I wish I had done this in the first place, but like your family I thought it was to drastic but it is what i needed. So now I will do what I should have done and hopefully add some good years to my life. Wishing you the best and so glad you are here.

Hi, I went for my first appt today to meet with WLS surgeon. I was trying to go for the Vertical Sleeve but I have GERD that causes Vocal Chord Disorder. The Doctor said that I can't have the sleeve or band because of that. I am actually happy about it. I originally wanted to get the bypass anyway. My family was pushing for the other surgeries because they think they are safer. I have been doing the research and I see a lot of people who have had to get revisions to RNY anyway. I am excited to get started on the changes that I need to make. My insurance requires a 3 mth supervised diet so I am going to use that time to work on my lifestyle changes ahead of time. I look forward to getting to know all of you here and am happy to answer any questions you may have.

Hi everyone, I was hoping to have the vertical sleeve surgery but I met with the surgeon today and he said that because I have GERD that affects my vocal chords I will not be able to have that surgery. As a result, I am having the RNY bypass surgery in January or February. I will be going over to the bypass forums now so I won't be on here after today. I wanted to thank all of you for the great info and support. Good luck to all of you.
Thanks
Kathy

Hi, I went for my first appt today to meet with WLS surgeon. I was trying to go for the Vertical Sleeve but I have GERD that causes Vocal Chord Disorder. The Doctor said that I can't have the sleeve or band because of that. I am actually happy about it. I originally wanted to get the bypass anyway. My family was pushing for the other surgeries because they think they are safer. I have been doing the research and I see a lot of people who have had to get revisions to RNY anyway. I am excited to get started on the changes that I need to make. My insurance requires a 3 mth supervised diet so I am going to use that time to work on my lifestyle changes ahead of time. I look forward to getting to know all of you here and am happy to answer any questions you may have.

That is awesome. Excited for you and your visit next week! And, January will be here b4 you know it!

If you went on the charts, I needed to lose 48 pounds to get to a "normal" BMI of 24.9 or 155 pounds at 5'6". At 65%, that would have only lost 31.2 pounds in a year. Well, I lost 70.8 pounds in less than 9 months. Seems like a lot of us on here have met our goal or are very close to it in 1 year or less.
I wonder if this is a stat for all WLS as a whole? I know there are some who struggle with losing the weight on VSG, but it seems to be a small percentage. And, I don't mean that to sound as trite as it probably does in writing. I so feel for anyone struggling with any weightloss - VSG, RYN, DS, Band, calorie counting etc. We've all been there and know the scars of those battles.
As far as getting to where I am ... I wish I could say it was all me and my strict compliance, but I haven't done very well at all on the exercise and haven't been such a stickler on the carbohydrate counting either. Having said that, I know that more exercise will help tone me up more & get off the last 7 I want to have gone by Christmas.
All of that is to say, I don't know why your nut told you this. It does sound a bit defeating, doesn't it? Maybe use it as a way to motivate yourself to "beat the numbers". Show them that your sleeve will take you to your goal!

I have a milk allergy and can't use most of the Whey Protein Shakes. I love the Jay Robb Egg Protein shakes, all flavors. They are great with Water, soy milk or almond milk.

Hi Kathy, All in it took me about 8 months from the time I picked up the phone to set a meeting with a surgeon who was part of my insurance plan. (Jan 2012)(about 3 weeks of that was getting on his calendar). That was followed by 4 meetings with him, 5 or 6 with the nutritionalist, several other test (blood, lungs, heart, gastric exam, psychiatrist, sleep study) etc. All this to get insurance approval...at least that's why I started it. But, at least some most of it frankly should do whether insurance requires or not. Get's you prepared and time to really think through getting the surgery and learn that it's just a tool. A bit of a reset. But, success will depend completely on the work I'm willing to put in now and later.
Btw, some more timeline stuff...since that's what you asked.
* Feb 1st Dr meeting
* March to July - lots of appts (see above)
* August - approved by Ins (Yipee!!!!)
* Sept 11th surgery
Hope this helps. Best of luck to you.